The director of the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie has addressed the controversial change to Pleakley’s character.
On Friday (23 May), the highly anticipated remake of the popular 2002 animated film made its way to cinemas.
Starring newcomer Maia Kealoha as the titular Lilo, the film tells the hilarious and touching story of her unlikely friendship with the fugitive alien Experiment 626, aka Stitch (Christopher Sanders).
However, in the weeks leading up to its release, OG Lilo & Stitch fans expressed disappointment over the remake changing Pleakley’s (Billy Magnussen) human disguise – which was first revealed in the film’s March trailer.
In the animated feature, the self-proclaimed “Earth expert” sported an array of female alter egos in a poor attempt to blend in with humans.
Over the years, Pleakley’s campy and hilarious disguises have continued to captivate fans, resulting in many dubbing the one-eyed alien a “drag icon” and “inventor of drag.”
Unfortunately, the Galactic Federation member doesn’t wear fabulous wigs, a fake beauty mark or flowy dresses in the live-action remake. Instead, Pleakley uses a device that grants him the appearance of a normal human man.
On 5 May, director Dean Fleischer Camp addressed the fan outcry in a behind-the-scenes video uploaded on TikTok.
“I have had people message me, ‘Why is Pleakley not wearing a dress?’ And I just want to say, I tried… I tried,” he said before showcasing the concept art of Pleakley wearing a blue flower dress, a bright red wig, and yellow wedge sandals.
@marceltheshellwshoeson #disney #liloandstitch #animation ♬ original sound – Marcel the Shell
In response to Camp’s video, fans have flocked to social media to express frustration with Pleakley’s drag alter ego not making the final cut.
“This pisses me OFF let Pleakley be gender fluid,” one person on X/Twitter wrote.
Another fan added: “The only thing I’ll say about Lilo & Stitch (besides probably watching the original later) is that making Jumba the villain and Pleakley no longer crossdress is more proof of the rising queerphobia in our culture.”
A third fan tweeted: “This was my last straw icl, I won’t be watching this. Pleakley was my favourite character.”
Aside from the exclusion of Pleakley’s drag disguises, the live-action Lilo & Stitch has received mostly positive reviews, with critics and viewers praising the film’s CGI, comedic moments and Kealoha and Sanders’ leading performances.
The film has also become a box-office smash, with Variety reporting that it is on track to snagging the biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever.
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